Firstly, consumer devotion is both a boon and a responsibility for a brand. Deep bonds are hard won and easily lost. Feelings of betrayal makes the cost of winning back an old customer astronomical when compared to keeping an existing one. So brands that ignore or disregard Millennials do so at their peril.

Secondly, despite many half-hearted or piecemeal CSR efforts, Millennials believe brands actually stand for their core values they claim to represent. So brands must consistently deliver on these value propositions in a transparent and accountable way. The contrast between BP’s marketing and their handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a powerful example of a costly breach of trust.

Thirdly, Millennials expect CEOs to be evangelists for these value propositions. CEOs can no longer content themselves to be silent architects sliding profit sheets under the boardroom door. They need to actively represent the brand in both the on and offline worlds, as we see with the likes of Richard Branson (Virgin), Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo) and Tony Hsieh (Zappos).

Fourthly, as representatives of borderline religions, employees must also demonstrate adherence to the core values of the brand. This applies to everyone in their supply chain to customer service to the language that is used in company tweets. Without that alignment of purpose and consistency, employees will expose their brands to be empty promises undeserving of Millennial devotion.

Finally, like any religion there is a fundamental element of faith, a predisposition to the positive, and an assumption that those in charge have the best interests of everyone at heart. The global economic meltdown that began 2008 was an alarming wake-up call for Millennials. The unbridled self-interest of power brokers on Wall Street and within corporate America came at an extreme cost to everyone including Millennials. As a result Millennials are well-schooled in the art of corporate deception and will expect higher standards of behavior or simply worship somewhere else.

The energy, positivity and optimism of Millennials is something corporate America should not squander. It has the power to dramatically change our world for the better. The Millennial generation has little patience for destructive corporate self-interest. Millennials look to brands as partners with a shared responsibility in building their future. Brands that embrace this opportunity will have their praises sung in rapturous Millennial tones. Those that don’t will find Millennials lining up to read them their last rights.

Do you think brands owe their customers the same degree of devotion? Or are Millennials simply naive?

On the one hand, this is kind of frightening — brands (or commerce) are almost as important as religion or ethnic identification.

On the other hand, brands now have an opportunity to convey meaning to consumers beyond an immediate good or service. The act of marketing becomes the act of sharing a culture. While the ultimate goal is dollars and cents, that doesn’t have to be a salient goal. There is a potential for a beneficial experience for all, that can transcend commercial transactions.

Thanks and I totally agree. the brand experience, informed by values, can
now be far more meaningful than a money exchange. Most brands aren’t doing
this but the successful ones are. Hopefully they’ll follow their lead soon.
Thanks, Simon

Welcome to We First! When you consider Wikileaks, protests in Egypt, the
Pepsi Refresh Project, and the online outcry against the BP oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico, it’s easy to see how influential social technology is
becoming in our political, business, social and personal lives.

The We First site will feature:
• The latest social technologies across mobile, social, and gaming
platforms.
• Creative uses of social media by business, non-profits and government.
• Fresh strategies for how companies use social media to build brand
communities, profits and positive impact.
• Step-by-step plans for how to use emerging technologies to maximize your
return on investment.

A struggling economy, a world in crisis and new social technology has left
brands scrambling for profits and consumers desperate for change. What if we
could achieve both? What if brands and consumers could partner using social
media to build communities, profits and a better world? That’s the promise
of a We First world.

Simon Mainwaring is an author, blogger, speaker and founder and CEO of We
First, a social branding consultancy. A former Nike creative at Wieden &
Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy,
he is a member of the GMI Digital Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the
Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, AdAge’s Power150 and is
an Expert Blogger for Fast Company.

What people are saying about We First “In the most important business book
since Freakonomics, Simon Mainwaring’s transformational opus illustrates
that doing good and doing well go hand-in-hand for 21st century
corporations. A groundbreaking approach to marketing, We First teaches
brands how to tap into a world of 600 million friends and billions of daily
personal news feeds by making an impact one person at a time.” _Jay Samit_
Former EVP Sony Corporation of America

“Few understand the power of brands and consumers better than Simon
Mainwaring. In We First he presents a truly compelling vision of how to
transform that power to the benefit of society and the good of
capitalism.” Jeff Jarvis
Author of What Would Google Do?

“We First is a critical resource for corporate leaders and will inspire
consumers, individually and collectively, to recognize their inherent
strength. It is an invaluable blueprint for building this new societal
structure we so urgently need.” Philip Seib Professor & Director, Center
on Public Diplomacy,
USC Annenberg School

“We First is as prescient as it is visionary – a must read for marketers and
consumers intent on creating a prosperous future for all.” Rishad
Tobaccowala
Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer for VivaKi, Publicis Groupe

Hello!
Simon here. I hope all is well. I’m really excited this month because, after
three years of work, the launch of the We First book is only four weeks
away. So I wanted to explain a little about why I wrote We First and its
purpose.

We First is not an idea anyone can own. It exists in the collective and is
merely there to serve as a platform on which to celebrate all those people
who are making an effort to serve the interests of others as well as
themselves. These include brands doing CSR initiatives or cause marketing,
non-profits and foundations, social entrepreneurs, government and NGO
efforts, and every regular person that is consciously thinking about the
social impact of what they buy or sell every day.

My hope with the book is that we can all work together to shift the
conversation in the private sector about the responsibility that we all have
to contribute to building a better world. Obviously, launching a book is a
community effort and I’ll be looking for your help in the next month to
amplify the We First message so we can convert this conversation into
substantive change.

It’s my firm belief that if we make enough noise we’ll look back in five
years time and see a dramatic change in the way companies and customers work
together to scale positive social change.

• How to shift our thinking and behavior to better serve the interests of
others and ourselves.
• How brands and customers work together to have a positive impact through
the things we buy every day.
• How companies can make money from social media by building communities
that drive profits.
• How customers can think and act in ways that is both good for them and the
planet.
• How companies and customers integrate purpose into profit to create change
that is sustainable.
• How we reengineer the way we do business to leave a better world for our
kids.

As you can see, We First is perfect for you, your boss or colleague,
marketing specialists, a graduating student, a mom and anyone who
contributes or works with causes and non-profits. I so appreciate your help
in sharing the message. Together we can improve the lives of millions of
others and our own.

We First book tour and Broadcastr

Over the next few weeks I’ll be traveling a lot talking about the We First
message. One of the ways I’ll stay in touch is by using Broadcastr, a great
new app that lets you geo-tag audio about what you’re up to and then share
it across social networks. The app also lets you take a walk around while
stories about your surroundings stream into your headphones automatically
based on your GPS location. So it makes social media hyper local. Look out
for these tweets and check out Broadcastr for yourself as it’s a great tool
for brands and regular people to enjoy. Here’s where you can download the
app for free and a link to listen to my book tour updates:

Social media allows you and your community to work together to help build
your brand, increase your profits, and have a positive impact in the world.
But this can only be done if you build a genuine relationship with your
community through authentic and consistent engagement. With that in mind,
let’s look at a few insider tips specific to two popular platforms, Facebook
and Twitter.

_Top five Don’ts for Facebook:_
1. Don’t participate if you do not intend to invest time and energy into
long-term relationships with your fans.
2. Don’t participate if you are not willing or capable of moderating the
conversations you start on a daily basis.
3. Don’t measure success by the number of fans or followers you have, but
rather, how deeply they are engaged.
4. Don’t treat social media like direct mail where you simply talk about
yourself tirelessly in shorter sound bites.
5. When you make a mistake, don’t get defensive or self-righteous, but
rather, accept responsibility, apologize and do what you can to make up for
it.

_Top 5 Dos for Facebook_
1. Do bring consistent creativity to your Facebook ‘Like’ page to inspire
engagement.
2. Do respond to negative comments in order to turn a brand critic into a
brand advocate.
3. Do recognize your brand loyalists and reach out to them to build them
into brand ambassadors.
4. Do keep up to date with the latest applications and plug-ins that add new
dimension to your ‘Like’ page.
5. Do recognize that your are effectively bidding for people’s attention in
an overcrowded marketplace and that their time deserves to be rewarded.

_Top 5 Don’ts for Twitter_
1. Don’t buy followers. It’s a waste of time and money.
2. Don’t spam your audience with constant messages about yourself.
3. Don’t forget to bring some humor and wit to your communications so that
people want to read what you share.
4. Don’t forget to retweet what your followers share.
5. Don’t forget to be interesting. You must demonstrate your passion for
your topic.

_Top 5 Do’s for Twitter_
1. Do engage with a follower when they reach out to you with a question or
information.
2. Do post between eight and ten times a day and spend the rest of your time
on engagement.
3. Do share photos, video links and text messages to inspire interest.
4. Do stay consistently engaged to avoid community attrition.
5. Do monitor your tone carefully, because it only takes 140 characters to
undo all your good work.

Overarching all these pointers is a necessity for your brand to be clearly
defined, to know its core values, and to demonstrate those consistently.
Social media tools are not an end in themselves, but rather another way to
connect with people emotionally to generate word of mouth advertising. If
your brand is clearly defined and your core values consistently on display,
your community will reward your engagement by promoting your brand for you.

Thanks for being a part of the We First community and I hope you enjoyed the
newsletter. Look out for a big announcement in next month’s issue!

A struggling economy, a world in crisis and new social technology has left
brands scrambling for profits and consumers desperate for change. What if we
could achieve both? What if brands and consumers could partner using social
media to build communities, profits and a better world? That’s the promise
of a We First world.
Simon Mainwaring is an author, blogger, speaker and founder and CEO of We
First, a social branding consultancy. A former Nike creative at Wieden &
Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy,
he is a member of the GMI Digital Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the
Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, AdAge’s Power150 and is
an Expert Blogger for _Fast Company_.

Well, today is the day! After almost four years of work, my first book ‘We
First’ is now available. I am so excited to share this with you and invite
you to order a copy for yourself and your colleagues of friends. The book
offers you enormous value in the following areas:

How does a business use social media to build its profits and brand
community.

How do regular people use what they buy and social media to have a positive
impact on our world.

How does the business work with its customers to great a new pillar of
social change that can build a better world.

My hope is that We First will enrich your business and personal life. Our
world desperately needs new ideas that can improve the lives of others and
ourselves. Thank you so much for your support and for sharing the message.

We First is a way of looking at the world. It asserts that we now live in an
intimately connected, mutually dependent, global community. It recognizes
that selfish Me First thinking hurts business, people we care about,
millions of strangers and the planet. It embraces the seismic impact of
digital and social technology that is transforming our professional and
personal lives. It accepts the challenge of millions of consumers who want
brands to be a force for change in return for their loyalty, goodwill and
purchases. It believes that this unprecedented collision of global needs and
personal wants, of human emotion and social technology, of powerful brands
and newly empowered consumers has the potential to transform our world.

Ten Core ‘We First’ Beliefs
1. An inter-dependent, global community requires an expanded definition of
self-interest.
2. The future of profit is purpose.
3. Technology is teaching us to be human again.
4. Consumers want a better world, not just better widgets.
5. Brands must become architects of community.
6. Brands must become day traders in social emotion.
7. The evolution of revolution is contribution.
8. We cannot separate living and giving if we hope to build a better world.
9. Life’s necessities must generate the necessities for life.
10. Prosperity is not the wealth of a few but the well-being of many.

A struggling economy, a world in crisis and new social technology has left
brands scrambling for profits and consumers desperate for change. What if we
could achieve both? What if brands and consumers could partner using social
media to build communities, profits and a better world? That’s the promise
of a We First world.
Simon Mainwaring is an author, blogger, speaker and founder and CEO of We
First, a social branding consultancy. A former Nike creative at Wieden &
Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy,
he is a member of the GMI Digital Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the
Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, AdAge’s Power150 and is
an Expert Blogger for Fast Company.

It’s the last day of the launch week for We First, and we really need your support today, because with a little help, we’re hoping to reach the bestseller lists next week. So, if you haven’t already, please order your copy of We First today by clicking this Amazon link: http://amzn.to/mMKMK8.

If you have ordered a copy, THANKS! We’d love for you to please share this link with your friends and communities.

There are many benefits to buying this book today:
1. If you’re part of a company, you will learn how to use social technology to drive profits.
2. If you’re a concerned consumer, you will learn how to use social media to have a positive impact.
3. And, everyone will learn how to use social media to build a world we want to live in.

Order today, and you will receive 3 additional FREE GIFTS on the future of branding, advertising and socially responsible shopping.

I can’t believe this is the last day of the launch week for We First. I started working on the book 4 years ago, and I’ve been really encouraged by the response of companies about the greater role they can now play in scaling positive change. I wanted to ask your help one last time on this last day of the launch week of the book.

My hope is to make this conversation one of the most important issues for business today. That’s why I would so appreciate if you order a copy or even better yet copies of We First today. This way, the sales can contribute to the best seller lists that will then keep this conversation top of mind with an even broader audience.

So, thanks for your support this week, thanks for your patience on all of our emails and thanks for helping us over this final hurdle by ordering your copy today. Here’s the link: http://amzn.to/mMKMK8. And remember, 10% of all proceeds from the purchases of We First will be donated to ‘Girl up,’ a campaign of the United Nations Foundation.

I wanted to thank everyone for their support in the launch of We First. We
are so excited that the message is resonating and that it is contributing to
the conversation that is changing the role of brands and the private sector.
Here’s how We First fared on the bestseller lists:

#4 on the New York Times Advice/How To bestseller list

#5 on the New York Time Hardcover Business bestseller list

#2 on the Wall Street Journal Business bestseller list

#4 on the USA Today bestseller list
…as well as being a #1 bestseller on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Finally, last week, Amazon named We First as one of the Top Ten Business
Books of 2011 so far.

This would not have been possible without all your support and from everyone
here at We First, a huge thank you.

_We First on Non-profits:_ One of the themes that We First explores is how
non-profits can become more effective marketers to help further the
important work they do. Here are a few thoughts on some of the challenges
that non-profits face.

Understandably, social media has been hailed by many non-profits as a
critical tool to help them fund-raise and do their valuable work more
effectively. Success stories like fund-raising for victims of the Haiti
earthquake and Japanese tsunami victims are proof of the ease with which
non-profits can now make people aware of a crisis and allow them to
contribute to the urgent needs of others. But there can also be a downside,
one that non-profits must be aware of if they hope to leverage social media
to their advantage.

The ability of a non-profit to use social media to build a dialogue with its
community forces it to define itself in ways that often weren’t necessary
before. The fact that non-profits can now market to consumers in ways
normally reserved for for-profit brands means that they must become more
effective marketers. These new expectations include the following:

_1. SELF DEFINITION:_ All non-profits do incredibly meaningful work but to
be most effective as marketers they need to define themselves within the
cause category that they work in. There needs to be a unique point of view
on the cause itself so that one non-profit can distinguish itself from
others working in the same cause category.

_2. ENGAGEMENT:_ One of the great challenges for non-profits is the constant
need to fund-raise. Yet with staffing and resources spread often spread so
thin, it’s difficult to have enough employees to engage with your community
on an real-time basis as well as do the meaningful work that’s required in
the field. Yet this is necessary if a non-profit hopes to sustain an active
and engaged online community.

_3. REPOSITIONING:_ Non-profits benefit greatly from partnerships with
for-profit companies, but for that to happen non-profits must to be able to
make their case as to the value of the partnership to the for-profit brand.
Too often, non-profits pitch themselves on the basis of the cause that they
are supporting alone. But as with any pitch situation, the offering must be
framed in terms of the needs of your potential client – in this case the
for-profit brand.

_4. CREATIVITY:_ Donor fatigue is an enormous challenge for non-profits at
any time, especially after a series of natural disasters as we just saw with
Haiti, Pakistan, and Japan. While social media gives non-profits the ability
to engage with their community more easily, they must become more creative
in their strategies and messaging to sustain their interest and support
through a series of natural disasters.

_5. TECHNOLOGY:_ It’s hard enough for a for-profit company to keep pace with
the marketplace with all the resources that it possesses. It’s even more
difficult for a non-profit with its limited resources. Yet the non-profit
world must become increasingly tech-savvy so that they know how their
donor-base is relating with each other and what tools are most appropriate
to help them reach their goals.

The challenges that social media presents to non-profits are as daunting as
they are for for-profit companies. The ability to connect with people so
easily brings with it the expectation of constant engagement and sustained
results. As such, it’s critical for non-profits to add to their skill sets
and become effective storytellers fascinated with emerging technologies. We
First was written to help non-profits do this by laying out a step-by-step
action plan for how brands use social media to build their communities,
drive their fund-raising, and help build a better world.

_Featured reviews of We First:_
[2]Social Media Drives Social Change and the We First Community
Links:
2.

I wanted to thank everyone for their support in the launch of We First. We are so excited that the message is resonating and that it is contributing to the conversation that is changing the role of brands and the private sector. Here’s how We First fared on the bestseller lists:

#4 on the New York Times Advice/How To bestseller list

#5 on the New York Time Hardcover Business bestseller list

#2 on the Wall Street Journal Business bestseller list

#4 on the USA Today bestseller list
…as well as being a #1 bestseller on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Finally, last week, Amazon named We First as one of the Top Ten Business Books of 2011 so far.

This would not have been possible without all your support and from everyone
here at We First, a huge thank you.

_We First on Non-profits:_ One of the themes that We First explores is how
non-profits can become more effective marketers to help further the
important work they do. Here are a few thoughts on some of the challenges
that non-profits face.

Understandably, social media has been hailed by many non-profits as a
critical tool to help them fund-raise and do their valuable work more
effectively. Success stories like fund-raising for victims of the Haiti
earthquake and Japanese tsunami victims are proof of the ease with which
non-profits can now make people aware of a crisis and allow them to
contribute to the urgent needs of others. But there can also be a downside,
one that non-profits must be aware of if they hope to leverage social media
to their advantage.

The ability of a non-profit to use social media to build a dialogue with its
community forces it to define itself in ways that often weren’t necessary
before. The fact that non-profits can now market to consumers in ways
normally reserved for for-profit brands means that they must become more
effective marketers. These new expectations include the following:

_1. SELF DEFINITION:_ All non-profits do incredibly meaningful work but to
be most effective as marketers they need to define themselves within the
cause category that they work in. There needs to be a unique point of view
on the cause itself so that one non-profit can distinguish itself from
others working in the same cause category.

_2. ENGAGEMENT:_ One of the great challenges for non-profits is the constant
need to fund-raise. Yet with staffing and resources spread often spread so
thin, it’s difficult to have enough employees to engage with your community
on an real-time basis as well as do the meaningful work that’s required in
the field. Yet this is necessary if a non-profit hopes to sustain an active
and engaged online community.

_3. REPOSITIONING:_ Non-profits benefit greatly from partnerships with
for-profit companies, but for that to happen non-profits must to be able to
make their case as to the value of the partnership to the for-profit brand.
Too often, non-profits pitch themselves on the basis of the cause that they
are supporting alone. But as with any pitch situation, the offering must be
framed in terms of the needs of your potential client – in this case the
for-profit brand.

_4. CREATIVITY:_ Donor fatigue is an enormous challenge for non-profits at
any time, especially after a series of natural disasters as we just saw with
Haiti, Pakistan, and Japan. While social media gives non-profits the ability
to engage with their community more easily, they must become more creative
in their strategies and messaging to sustain their interest and support
through a series of natural disasters.

_5. TECHNOLOGY:_ It’s hard enough for a for-profit company to keep pace with
the marketplace with all the resources that it possesses. It’s even more
difficult for a non-profit with its limited resources. Yet the non-profit
world must become increasingly tech-savvy so that they know how their
donor-base is relating with each other and what tools are most appropriate
to help them reach their goals.

The challenges that social media presents to non-profits are as daunting as
they are for for-profit companies. The ability to connect with people so
easily brings with it the expectation of constant engagement and sustained
results. As such, it’s critical for non-profits to add to their skill sets
and become effective storytellers fascinated with emerging technologies. We
First was written to help non-profits do this by laying out a step-by-step
action plan for how brands use social media to build their communities,
drive their fund-raising, and help build a better world.

_Featured reviews of We First:_
[2]Social Media Drives Social Change and the We First Community
Links:
2.

Facebook is a great place to keep in touch with friends, post photos, videos and create events. But first you need to join! Sign up today to create a profile and connect with the people you know.
Thanks,
The Facebook Team

Great points here and the religion analogy is interesting. You now have me trying to imagine which brands might endure to the point of becoming institutions versus all the others that might aspire to be minor fringe cults at best.

About brands and Millenials, they do owe their customers the same degree of devotion because that’s what drives shareholder value in our social and interconnected world.

At its most basic level, customer engagement is transactional and shareholder value is in the operating margin when the product or service is basic and commoditized. If the product or service is branded and represents more than the transaction, then shareholder value is built (or destroyed) by every element that touches the customer so operational alignment with marketing is critical.

The spirit of the Millennials does have the potential to change our world for the better and I’m ready to help them make it happen.

Thanks, John and interesting. The cult consideration is equally appropriate
as the religion. And I couldn’t agree more about shareholders as we now
start to wear an overriding hat as stakeholders in our future. And yes, the
purpose of a brand will need to be clearly and consistently aligned with the
operations. And I’m so encouraged by your last remark. I have a book coming
out next year that lays out how this could happen and I too believe we can
achieve big, positive things. A real pleasure, Simon

Welcome to We First! When you consider Wikileaks, protests in Egypt, the
Pepsi Refresh Project, and the online outcry against the BP oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico, it’s easy to see how influential social technology is
becoming in our political, business, social and personal lives.

The We First site will feature:
• The latest social technologies across mobile, social, and gaming
platforms.
• Creative uses of social media by business, non-profits and government.
• Fresh strategies for how companies use social media to build brand
communities, profits and positive impact.
• Step-by-step plans for how to use emerging technologies to maximize your
return on investment.

A struggling economy, a world in crisis and new social technology has left
brands scrambling for profits and consumers desperate for change. What if we
could achieve both? What if brands and consumers could partner using social
media to build communities, profits and a better world? That’s the promise
of a We First world.

Simon Mainwaring is an author, blogger, speaker and founder and CEO of We
First, a social branding consultancy. A former Nike creative at Wieden &
Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy,
he is a member of the GMI Digital Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the
Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, AdAge’s Power150 and is
an Expert Blogger for Fast Company.

What people are saying about We First “In the most important business book
since Freakonomics, Simon Mainwaring’s transformational opus illustrates
that doing good and doing well go hand-in-hand for 21st century
corporations. A groundbreaking approach to marketing, We First teaches
brands how to tap into a world of 600 million friends and billions of daily
personal news feeds by making an impact one person at a time.” _Jay Samit_
Former EVP Sony Corporation of America

“Few understand the power of brands and consumers better than Simon
Mainwaring. In We First he presents a truly compelling vision of how to
transform that power to the benefit of society and the good of
capitalism.” Jeff Jarvis
Author of What Would Google Do?

“We First is a critical resource for corporate leaders and will inspire
consumers, individually and collectively, to recognize their inherent
strength. It is an invaluable blueprint for building this new societal
structure we so urgently need.” Philip Seib Professor & Director, Center
on Public Diplomacy,
USC Annenberg School

“We First is as prescient as it is visionary – a must read for marketers and
consumers intent on creating a prosperous future for all.” Rishad
Tobaccowala
Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer for VivaKi, Publicis Groupe

Hello!
Simon here. I hope all is well. I’m really excited this month because, after
three years of work, the launch of the We First book is only four weeks
away. So I wanted to explain a little about why I wrote We First and its
purpose.

We First is not an idea anyone can own. It exists in the collective and is
merely there to serve as a platform on which to celebrate all those people
who are making an effort to serve the interests of others as well as
themselves. These include brands doing CSR initiatives or cause marketing,
non-profits and foundations, social entrepreneurs, government and NGO
efforts, and every regular person that is consciously thinking about the
social impact of what they buy or sell every day.

My hope with the book is that we can all work together to shift the
conversation in the private sector about the responsibility that we all have
to contribute to building a better world. Obviously, launching a book is a
community effort and I’ll be looking for your help in the next month to
amplify the We First message so we can convert this conversation into
substantive change.

It’s my firm belief that if we make enough noise we’ll look back in five
years time and see a dramatic change in the way companies and customers work
together to scale positive social change.

• How to shift our thinking and behavior to better serve the interests of
others and ourselves.
• How brands and customers work together to have a positive impact through
the things we buy every day.
• How companies can make money from social media by building communities
that drive profits.
• How customers can think and act in ways that is both good for them and the
planet.
• How companies and customers integrate purpose into profit to create change
that is sustainable.
• How we reengineer the way we do business to leave a better world for our
kids.

As you can see, We First is perfect for you, your boss or colleague,
marketing specialists, a graduating student, a mom and anyone who
contributes or works with causes and non-profits. I so appreciate your help
in sharing the message. Together we can improve the lives of millions of
others and our own.

We First book tour and Broadcastr

Over the next few weeks I’ll be traveling a lot talking about the We First
message. One of the ways I’ll stay in touch is by using Broadcastr, a great
new app that lets you geo-tag audio about what you’re up to and then share
it across social networks. The app also lets you take a walk around while
stories about your surroundings stream into your headphones automatically
based on your GPS location. So it makes social media hyper local. Look out
for these tweets and check out Broadcastr for yourself as it’s a great tool
for brands and regular people to enjoy. Here’s where you can download the
app for free and a link to listen to my book tour updates:

Social media allows you and your community to work together to help build
your brand, increase your profits, and have a positive impact in the world.
But this can only be done if you build a genuine relationship with your
community through authentic and consistent engagement. With that in mind,
let’s look at a few insider tips specific to two popular platforms, Facebook
and Twitter.

_Top five Don’ts for Facebook:_
1. Don’t participate if you do not intend to invest time and energy into
long-term relationships with your fans.
2. Don’t participate if you are not willing or capable of moderating the
conversations you start on a daily basis.
3. Don’t measure success by the number of fans or followers you have, but
rather, how deeply they are engaged.
4. Don’t treat social media like direct mail where you simply talk about
yourself tirelessly in shorter sound bites.
5. When you make a mistake, don’t get defensive or self-righteous, but
rather, accept responsibility, apologize and do what you can to make up for
it.

_Top 5 Dos for Facebook_
1. Do bring consistent creativity to your Facebook ‘Like’ page to inspire
engagement.
2. Do respond to negative comments in order to turn a brand critic into a
brand advocate.
3. Do recognize your brand loyalists and reach out to them to build them
into brand ambassadors.
4. Do keep up to date with the latest applications and plug-ins that add new
dimension to your ‘Like’ page.
5. Do recognize that your are effectively bidding for people’s attention in
an overcrowded marketplace and that their time deserves to be rewarded.

_Top 5 Don’ts for Twitter_
1. Don’t buy followers. It’s a waste of time and money.
2. Don’t spam your audience with constant messages about yourself.
3. Don’t forget to bring some humor and wit to your communications so that
people want to read what you share.
4. Don’t forget to retweet what your followers share.
5. Don’t forget to be interesting. You must demonstrate your passion for
your topic.

_Top 5 Do’s for Twitter_
1. Do engage with a follower when they reach out to you with a question or
information.
2. Do post between eight and ten times a day and spend the rest of your time
on engagement.
3. Do share photos, video links and text messages to inspire interest.
4. Do stay consistently engaged to avoid community attrition.
5. Do monitor your tone carefully, because it only takes 140 characters to
undo all your good work.

Overarching all these pointers is a necessity for your brand to be clearly
defined, to know its core values, and to demonstrate those consistently.
Social media tools are not an end in themselves, but rather another way to
connect with people emotionally to generate word of mouth advertising. If
your brand is clearly defined and your core values consistently on display,
your community will reward your engagement by promoting your brand for you.

Thanks for being a part of the We First community and I hope you enjoyed the
newsletter. Look out for a big announcement in next month’s issue!

A struggling economy, a world in crisis and new social technology has left
brands scrambling for profits and consumers desperate for change. What if we
could achieve both? What if brands and consumers could partner using social
media to build communities, profits and a better world? That’s the promise
of a We First world.
Simon Mainwaring is an author, blogger, speaker and founder and CEO of We
First, a social branding consultancy. A former Nike creative at Wieden &
Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy,
he is a member of the GMI Digital Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the
Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, AdAge’s Power150 and is
an Expert Blogger for _Fast Company_.

Well, today is the day! After almost four years of work, my first book ‘We
First’ is now available. I am so excited to share this with you and invite
you to order a copy for yourself and your colleagues of friends. The book
offers you enormous value in the following areas:

How does a business use social media to build its profits and brand
community.

How do regular people use what they buy and social media to have a positive
impact on our world.

How does the business work with its customers to great a new pillar of
social change that can build a better world.

My hope is that We First will enrich your business and personal life. Our
world desperately needs new ideas that can improve the lives of others and
ourselves. Thank you so much for your support and for sharing the message.

We First is a way of looking at the world. It asserts that we now live in an
intimately connected, mutually dependent, global community. It recognizes
that selfish Me First thinking hurts business, people we care about,
millions of strangers and the planet. It embraces the seismic impact of
digital and social technology that is transforming our professional and
personal lives. It accepts the challenge of millions of consumers who want
brands to be a force for change in return for their loyalty, goodwill and
purchases. It believes that this unprecedented collision of global needs and
personal wants, of human emotion and social technology, of powerful brands
and newly empowered consumers has the potential to transform our world.

Ten Core ‘We First’ Beliefs
1. An inter-dependent, global community requires an expanded definition of
self-interest.
2. The future of profit is purpose.
3. Technology is teaching us to be human again.
4. Consumers want a better world, not just better widgets.
5. Brands must become architects of community.
6. Brands must become day traders in social emotion.
7. The evolution of revolution is contribution.
8. We cannot separate living and giving if we hope to build a better world.
9. Life’s necessities must generate the necessities for life.
10. Prosperity is not the wealth of a few but the well-being of many.

A struggling economy, a world in crisis and new social technology has left
brands scrambling for profits and consumers desperate for change. What if we
could achieve both? What if brands and consumers could partner using social
media to build communities, profits and a better world? That’s the promise
of a We First world.
Simon Mainwaring is an author, blogger, speaker and founder and CEO of We
First, a social branding consultancy. A former Nike creative at Wieden &
Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy,
he is a member of the GMI Digital Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the
Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, AdAge’s Power150 and is
an Expert Blogger for Fast Company.

Well, today is the day! After almost four years of work, my first book ‘We
First’ is now available. I am so excited to share this with you and invite
you to order a copy for yourself and your colleagues of friends. The book
offers you enormous value in the following areas:

How does a business use social media to build its profits and brand
community.

How do regular people use what they buy and social media to have a positive
impact on our world.

How does the business work with its customers to great a new pillar of
social change that can build a better world.

My hope is that We First will enrich your business and personal life. Our
world desperately needs new ideas that can improve the lives of others and
ourselves. Thank you so much for your support and for sharing the message.

We First is a way of looking at the world. It asserts that we now live in an
intimately connected, mutually dependent, global community. It recognizes
that selfish Me First thinking hurts business, people we care about,
millions of strangers and the planet. It embraces the seismic impact of
digital and social technology that is transforming our professional and
personal lives. It accepts the challenge of millions of consumers who want
brands to be a force for change in return for their loyalty, goodwill and
purchases. It believes that this unprecedented collision of global needs and
personal wants, of human emotion and social technology, of powerful brands
and newly empowered consumers has the potential to transform our world.

Ten Core ‘We First’ Beliefs
1. An inter-dependent, global community requires an expanded definition of
self-interest.
2. The future of profit is purpose.
3. Technology is teaching us to be human again.
4. Consumers want a better world, not just better widgets.
5. Brands must become architects of community.
6. Brands must become day traders in social emotion.
7. The evolution of revolution is contribution.
8. We cannot separate living and giving if we hope to build a better world.
9. Life’s necessities must generate the necessities for life.
10. Prosperity is not the wealth of a few but the well-being of many.

A struggling economy, a world in crisis and new social technology has left
brands scrambling for profits and consumers desperate for change. What if we
could achieve both? What if brands and consumers could partner using social
media to build communities, profits and a better world? That’s the promise
of a We First world.
Simon Mainwaring is an author, blogger, speaker and founder and CEO of We
First, a social branding consultancy. A former Nike creative at Wieden &
Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy,
he is a member of the GMI Digital Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the
Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, AdAge’s Power150 and is
an Expert Blogger for Fast Company.

Well, today is the day! After almost four years of work, my first book ‘We
First’ is now available. I am so excited to share this with you and invite
you to order a copy for yourself and your colleagues of friends. The book
offers you enormous value in the following areas:

How does a business use social media to build its profits and brand
community.

How do regular people use what they buy and social media to have a positive
impact on our world.

How does the business work with its customers to great a new pillar of
social change that can build a better world.

My hope is that We First will enrich your business and personal life. Our
world desperately needs new ideas that can improve the lives of others and
ourselves. Thank you so much for your support and for sharing the message.

We First is a way of looking at the world. It asserts that we now live in an
intimately connected, mutually dependent, global community. It recognizes
that selfish Me First thinking hurts business, people we care about,
millions of strangers and the planet. It embraces the seismic impact of
digital and social technology that is transforming our professional and
personal lives. It accepts the challenge of millions of consumers who want
brands to be a force for change in return for their loyalty, goodwill and
purchases. It believes that this unprecedented collision of global needs and
personal wants, of human emotion and social technology, of powerful brands
and newly empowered consumers has the potential to transform our world.

Ten Core ‘We First’ Beliefs
1. An inter-dependent, global community requires an expanded definition of
self-interest.
2. The future of profit is purpose.
3. Technology is teaching us to be human again.
4. Consumers want a better world, not just better widgets.
5. Brands must become architects of community.
6. Brands must become day traders in social emotion.
7. The evolution of revolution is contribution.
8. We cannot separate living and giving if we hope to build a better world.
9. Life’s necessities must generate the necessities for life.
10. Prosperity is not the wealth of a few but the well-being of many.

A struggling economy, a world in crisis and new social technology has left
brands scrambling for profits and consumers desperate for change. What if we
could achieve both? What if brands and consumers could partner using social
media to build communities, profits and a better world? That’s the promise
of a We First world.
Simon Mainwaring is an author, blogger, speaker and founder and CEO of We
First, a social branding consultancy. A former Nike creative at Wieden &
Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy,
he is a member of the GMI Digital Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the
Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, AdAge’s Power150 and is
an Expert Blogger for Fast Company.

Well, today is the day! After almost four years of work, my first book ‘We
First’ is now available. I am so excited to share this with you and invite
you to order a copy for yourself and your colleagues of friends. The book
offers you enormous value in the following areas:

How does a business use social media to build its profits and brand
community.

How do regular people use what they buy and social media to have a positive
impact on our world.

How does the business work with its customers to great a new pillar of
social change that can build a better world.

My hope is that We First will enrich your business and personal life. Our
world desperately needs new ideas that can improve the lives of others and
ourselves. Thank you so much for your support and for sharing the message.

We First is a way of looking at the world. It asserts that we now live in an
intimately connected, mutually dependent, global community. It recognizes
that selfish Me First thinking hurts business, people we care about,
millions of strangers and the planet. It embraces the seismic impact of
digital and social technology that is transforming our professional and
personal lives. It accepts the challenge of millions of consumers who want
brands to be a force for change in return for their loyalty, goodwill and
purchases. It believes that this unprecedented collision of global needs and
personal wants, of human emotion and social technology, of powerful brands
and newly empowered consumers has the potential to transform our world.

Ten Core ‘We First’ Beliefs
1. An inter-dependent, global community requires an expanded definition of
self-interest.
2. The future of profit is purpose.
3. Technology is teaching us to be human again.
4. Consumers want a better world, not just better widgets.
5. Brands must become architects of community.
6. Brands must become day traders in social emotion.
7. The evolution of revolution is contribution.
8. We cannot separate living and giving if we hope to build a better world.
9. Life’s necessities must generate the necessities for life.
10. Prosperity is not the wealth of a few but the well-being of many.

A struggling economy, a world in crisis and new social technology has left
brands scrambling for profits and consumers desperate for change. What if we
could achieve both? What if brands and consumers could partner using social
media to build communities, profits and a better world? That’s the promise
of a We First world.
Simon Mainwaring is an author, blogger, speaker and founder and CEO of We
First, a social branding consultancy. A former Nike creative at Wieden &
Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy,
he is a member of the GMI Digital Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the
Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, AdAge’s Power150 and is
an Expert Blogger for Fast Company.

It’s the last day of the launch week for We First, and we really need your support today, because with a little help, we’re hoping to reach the bestseller lists next week. So, if you haven’t already, please order your copy of We First today by clicking this Amazon link: http://amzn.to/mMKMK8.

If you have ordered a copy, THANKS! We’d love for you to please share this link with your friends and communities.

There are many benefits to buying this book today:
1. If you’re part of a company, you will learn how to use social technology to drive profits.
2. If you’re a concerned consumer, you will learn how to use social media to have a positive impact.
3. And, everyone will learn how to use social media to build a world we want to live in.

Order today, and you will receive 3 additional FREE GIFTS on the future of branding, advertising and socially responsible shopping.

I can’t believe this is the last day of the launch week for We First. I started working on the book 4 years ago, and I’ve been really encouraged by the response of companies about the greater role they can now play in scaling positive change. I wanted to ask your help one last time on this last day of the launch week of the book.

My hope is to make this conversation one of the most important issues for business today. That’s why I would so appreciate if you order a copy or even better yet copies of We First today. This way, the sales can contribute to the best seller lists that will then keep this conversation top of mind with an even broader audience.

So, thanks for your support this week, thanks for your patience on all of our emails and thanks for helping us over this final hurdle by ordering your copy today. Here’s the link: http://amzn.to/mMKMK8. And remember, 10% of all proceeds from the purchases of We First will be donated to ‘Girl up,’ a campaign of the United Nations Foundation.

I wanted to thank everyone for their support in the launch of We First. We
are so excited that the message is resonating and that it is contributing to
the conversation that is changing the role of brands and the private sector.
Here’s how We First fared on the bestseller lists:

#4 on the New York Times Advice/How To bestseller list

#5 on the New York Time Hardcover Business bestseller list

#2 on the Wall Street Journal Business bestseller list

#4 on the USA Today bestseller list
…as well as being a #1 bestseller on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Finally, last week, Amazon named We First as one of the Top Ten Business
Books of 2011 so far.

This would not have been possible without all your support and from everyone
here at We First, a huge thank you.

_We First on Non-profits:_ One of the themes that We First explores is how
non-profits can become more effective marketers to help further the
important work they do. Here are a few thoughts on some of the challenges
that non-profits face.

Understandably, social media has been hailed by many non-profits as a
critical tool to help them fund-raise and do their valuable work more
effectively. Success stories like fund-raising for victims of the Haiti
earthquake and Japanese tsunami victims are proof of the ease with which
non-profits can now make people aware of a crisis and allow them to
contribute to the urgent needs of others. But there can also be a downside,
one that non-profits must be aware of if they hope to leverage social media
to their advantage.

The ability of a non-profit to use social media to build a dialogue with its
community forces it to define itself in ways that often weren’t necessary
before. The fact that non-profits can now market to consumers in ways
normally reserved for for-profit brands means that they must become more
effective marketers. These new expectations include the following:

_1. SELF DEFINITION:_ All non-profits do incredibly meaningful work but to
be most effective as marketers they need to define themselves within the
cause category that they work in. There needs to be a unique point of view
on the cause itself so that one non-profit can distinguish itself from
others working in the same cause category.

_2. ENGAGEMENT:_ One of the great challenges for non-profits is the constant
need to fund-raise. Yet with staffing and resources spread often spread so
thin, it’s difficult to have enough employees to engage with your community
on an real-time basis as well as do the meaningful work that’s required in
the field. Yet this is necessary if a non-profit hopes to sustain an active
and engaged online community.

_3. REPOSITIONING:_ Non-profits benefit greatly from partnerships with
for-profit companies, but for that to happen non-profits must to be able to
make their case as to the value of the partnership to the for-profit brand.
Too often, non-profits pitch themselves on the basis of the cause that they
are supporting alone. But as with any pitch situation, the offering must be
framed in terms of the needs of your potential client – in this case the
for-profit brand.

_4. CREATIVITY:_ Donor fatigue is an enormous challenge for non-profits at
any time, especially after a series of natural disasters as we just saw with
Haiti, Pakistan, and Japan. While social media gives non-profits the ability
to engage with their community more easily, they must become more creative
in their strategies and messaging to sustain their interest and support
through a series of natural disasters.

_5. TECHNOLOGY:_ It’s hard enough for a for-profit company to keep pace with
the marketplace with all the resources that it possesses. It’s even more
difficult for a non-profit with its limited resources. Yet the non-profit
world must become increasingly tech-savvy so that they know how their
donor-base is relating with each other and what tools are most appropriate
to help them reach their goals.

The challenges that social media presents to non-profits are as daunting as
they are for for-profit companies. The ability to connect with people so
easily brings with it the expectation of constant engagement and sustained
results. As such, it’s critical for non-profits to add to their skill sets
and become effective storytellers fascinated with emerging technologies. We
First was written to help non-profits do this by laying out a step-by-step
action plan for how brands use social media to build their communities,
drive their fund-raising, and help build a better world.

_Featured reviews of We First:_
[2]Social Media Drives Social Change and the We First Community
Links:
2.

I wanted to thank everyone for their support in the launch of We First. We are so excited that the message is resonating and that it is contributing to the conversation that is changing the role of brands and the private sector. Here’s how We First fared on the bestseller lists:

#4 on the New York Times Advice/How To bestseller list

#5 on the New York Time Hardcover Business bestseller list

#2 on the Wall Street Journal Business bestseller list

#4 on the USA Today bestseller list
…as well as being a #1 bestseller on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Finally, last week, Amazon named We First as one of the Top Ten Business Books of 2011 so far.

This would not have been possible without all your support and from everyone
here at We First, a huge thank you.

_We First on Non-profits:_ One of the themes that We First explores is how
non-profits can become more effective marketers to help further the
important work they do. Here are a few thoughts on some of the challenges
that non-profits face.

Understandably, social media has been hailed by many non-profits as a
critical tool to help them fund-raise and do their valuable work more
effectively. Success stories like fund-raising for victims of the Haiti
earthquake and Japanese tsunami victims are proof of the ease with which
non-profits can now make people aware of a crisis and allow them to
contribute to the urgent needs of others. But there can also be a downside,
one that non-profits must be aware of if they hope to leverage social media
to their advantage.

The ability of a non-profit to use social media to build a dialogue with its
community forces it to define itself in ways that often weren’t necessary
before. The fact that non-profits can now market to consumers in ways
normally reserved for for-profit brands means that they must become more
effective marketers. These new expectations include the following:

_1. SELF DEFINITION:_ All non-profits do incredibly meaningful work but to
be most effective as marketers they need to define themselves within the
cause category that they work in. There needs to be a unique point of view
on the cause itself so that one non-profit can distinguish itself from
others working in the same cause category.

_2. ENGAGEMENT:_ One of the great challenges for non-profits is the constant
need to fund-raise. Yet with staffing and resources spread often spread so
thin, it’s difficult to have enough employees to engage with your community
on an real-time basis as well as do the meaningful work that’s required in
the field. Yet this is necessary if a non-profit hopes to sustain an active
and engaged online community.

_3. REPOSITIONING:_ Non-profits benefit greatly from partnerships with
for-profit companies, but for that to happen non-profits must to be able to
make their case as to the value of the partnership to the for-profit brand.
Too often, non-profits pitch themselves on the basis of the cause that they
are supporting alone. But as with any pitch situation, the offering must be
framed in terms of the needs of your potential client – in this case the
for-profit brand.

_4. CREATIVITY:_ Donor fatigue is an enormous challenge for non-profits at
any time, especially after a series of natural disasters as we just saw with
Haiti, Pakistan, and Japan. While social media gives non-profits the ability
to engage with their community more easily, they must become more creative
in their strategies and messaging to sustain their interest and support
through a series of natural disasters.

_5. TECHNOLOGY:_ It’s hard enough for a for-profit company to keep pace with
the marketplace with all the resources that it possesses. It’s even more
difficult for a non-profit with its limited resources. Yet the non-profit
world must become increasingly tech-savvy so that they know how their
donor-base is relating with each other and what tools are most appropriate
to help them reach their goals.

The challenges that social media presents to non-profits are as daunting as
they are for for-profit companies. The ability to connect with people so
easily brings with it the expectation of constant engagement and sustained
results. As such, it’s critical for non-profits to add to their skill sets
and become effective storytellers fascinated with emerging technologies. We
First was written to help non-profits do this by laying out a step-by-step
action plan for how brands use social media to build their communities,
drive their fund-raising, and help build a better world.

_Featured reviews of We First:_
[2]Social Media Drives Social Change and the We First Community
Links:
2.

Facebook is a great place to keep in touch with friends, post photos, videos and create events. But first you need to join! Sign up today to create a profile and connect with the people you know.
Thanks,
The Facebook Team